Why Trump will never be presidential
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
October 5, Donald Trump said there would be a "collapse" and
"depression" in television ratings if he ended his presidential
campaign. Later Trump suggested he would skip a CNN debate unless the
network gave him $5 million. CNN refused, and Trump later backtracked.
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6 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
November 22, Trump repeated his claim -- widely regarded as false --
that he saw television reports of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the
9/11 terrorist attacks. No footage to back up Trump's assertions has been found.
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7 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
In the wake of December's San Bernardino, California, shootings, Trump called for a travel ban on all Muslims
from entering the United States "until our country's representatives
can figure out what is going on." He did not give details on how Muslims
would be identified, but the Republican candidate did not rule out
special identification cards.
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8 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Donald Trump has developed an unlikely bromance with
Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign. Trump had
previously praised Putin as a leader he would "get along very well
with." Then, on December 17, Putin further stoked the flame, describing
Trump as "a bright and talented person." This led Trump in turn to make
more positive comments about the Russian leader.
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9 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
An unrelenting Trump took the run-up to Christmas as a chance to insult Democrat
hopeful Hillary Clinton. He said Clinton's bathroom break in a TV
debate was "disgusting" before saying she "got schlonged" by Barack
Obama in the 2008 presidential race. "Schlong" is a Yiddish word for
penis.
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10 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
January 24, Donald Trump boasted at a campaign rally in Sioux Center,
Iowa, that support for his presidential campaign would not decline even
if he shot someone in the middle of a crowded street.
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11 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Donald Trump has gone from outsider
to controversial front-runner in the race to become the Republican
Party's 2016 presidential candidate. Trump began his bid with an
announcement speech on June 16, calling for a massive wall on the U.S. border with Mexico -- for which he said he would make Mexico pay. At this stage he was tied for 10th place in the polls, at just 3%.
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1 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On week five of the campaign, Trump turned on Sen. John McCain
at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. McCain is regarded by
many as a war hero after being captured and held in Vietnam for more
than five years. After the comments, Republicans rushed to condemn
Trump, with rival candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham calling him "a jackass."
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
During the Republican presidential debate on August 6, Megyn Kelly pressed Trump about misogynistic, sexist comments he made in the past, such as calling some women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals."
Trump slammed Kelly for this, calling her questions "ridiculous" and "off-base."
After the first GOP presidential debate, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her... wherever." Many accused him of making a lewd comment about menstruation.
Trump told CNN's State of the Union that only a "deviant" or "sick" person would think otherwise. On ABC's This Week, Trump said: "I have nothing against Megyn Kelly, but she asked me a very, very nasty question."
Trump slammed Kelly for this, calling her questions "ridiculous" and "off-base."
After the first GOP presidential debate, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her... wherever." Many accused him of making a lewd comment about menstruation.
Trump told CNN's State of the Union that only a "deviant" or "sick" person would think otherwise. On ABC's This Week, Trump said: "I have nothing against Megyn Kelly, but she asked me a very, very nasty question."
Hide Caption
3 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
In
an effort to defend himself from critics of his remarks about the Fox
anchor, Trump explained why it is hard for others to insult him -- his
own good looks. Trump spoke about the backlash on NBC, saying: "There's
nothing to apologize (for). I thought she asked a very, very unfair
question."
Hide Caption
4 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Trump was quoted in Rolling Stone
magazine on September 9, mocking Republican rival Carly Fiorina's
appearance. On the same day, Trump told crowds: "We are led by very,
very stupid people."
Hide Caption
5 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
October 5, Donald Trump said there would be a "collapse" and
"depression" in television ratings if he ended his presidential
campaign. Later Trump suggested he would skip a CNN debate unless the
network gave him $5 million. CNN refused, and Trump later backtracked.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
November 22, Trump repeated his claim -- widely regarded as false --
that he saw television reports of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the
9/11 terrorist attacks. No footage to back up Trump's assertions has been found.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
In the wake of December's San Bernardino, California, shootings, Trump called for a travel ban on all Muslims
from entering the United States "until our country's representatives
can figure out what is going on." He did not give details on how Muslims
would be identified, but the Republican candidate did not rule out
special identification cards.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Donald Trump has developed an unlikely bromance with
Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign. Trump had
previously praised Putin as a leader he would "get along very well
with." Then, on December 17, Putin further stoked the flame, describing
Trump as "a bright and talented person." This led Trump in turn to make
more positive comments about the Russian leader.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
An unrelenting Trump took the run-up to Christmas as a chance to insult Democrat
hopeful Hillary Clinton. He said Clinton's bathroom break in a TV
debate was "disgusting" before saying she "got schlonged" by Barack
Obama in the 2008 presidential race. "Schlong" is a Yiddish word for
penis.
Hide Caption
10 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
January 24, Donald Trump boasted at a campaign rally in Sioux Center,
Iowa, that support for his presidential campaign would not decline even
if he shot someone in the middle of a crowded street.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Donald Trump has gone from outsider
to controversial front-runner in the race to become the Republican
Party's 2016 presidential candidate. Trump began his bid with an
announcement speech on June 16, calling for a massive wall on the U.S. border with Mexico -- for which he said he would make Mexico pay. At this stage he was tied for 10th place in the polls, at just 3%.
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On week five of the campaign, Trump turned on Sen. John McCain
at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. McCain is regarded by
many as a war hero after being captured and held in Vietnam for more
than five years. After the comments, Republicans rushed to condemn
Trump, with rival candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham calling him "a jackass."
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
During the Republican presidential debate on August 6, Megyn Kelly pressed Trump about misogynistic, sexist comments he made in the past, such as calling some women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals."
Trump slammed Kelly for this, calling her questions "ridiculous" and "off-base."
After the first GOP presidential debate, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her... wherever." Many accused him of making a lewd comment about menstruation.
Trump told CNN's State of the Union that only a "deviant" or "sick" person would think otherwise. On ABC's This Week, Trump said: "I have nothing against Megyn Kelly, but she asked me a very, very nasty question."
Trump slammed Kelly for this, calling her questions "ridiculous" and "off-base."
After the first GOP presidential debate, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her... wherever." Many accused him of making a lewd comment about menstruation.
Trump told CNN's State of the Union that only a "deviant" or "sick" person would think otherwise. On ABC's This Week, Trump said: "I have nothing against Megyn Kelly, but she asked me a very, very nasty question."
Hide Caption
3 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
In
an effort to defend himself from critics of his remarks about the Fox
anchor, Trump explained why it is hard for others to insult him -- his
own good looks. Trump spoke about the backlash on NBC, saying: "There's
nothing to apologize (for). I thought she asked a very, very unfair
question."
Hide Caption
4 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
Trump was quoted in Rolling Stone
magazine on September 9, mocking Republican rival Carly Fiorina's
appearance. On the same day, Trump told crowds: "We are led by very,
very stupid people."
Hide Caption
5 of 11
Photos: Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
On
October 5, Donald Trump said there would be a "collapse" and
"depression" in television ratings if he ended his presidential
campaign. Later Trump suggested he would skip a CNN debate unless the
network gave him $5 million. CNN refused, and Trump later backtracked.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Story highlights
- Dean Obeidallah: Trump thrives on entertaining his fans, even if it's detrimental in terms of the big picture
- GOP primaries are over. Trump will need to expand his base or he very easily could lose, he says
Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM's weekly program "The Dean Obeidallah Show," a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean's Report. Follow him @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
(CNN)If
you're waiting for Donald Trump to pivot to become "presidential" -- a
candidate who will stay on message and, objectively speaking, not hurt
his own campaign -- then I have one word for you. Stop. Really. Because
it just isn't going to happen.
The
latest example of Trump's self-destructive tendencies came Friday
morning, about 12 hours after a speech at the Republican National
Convention that even Trump critics like CNN's S.E. Cupp praised for suggesting he might have "the discipline so many believed he lacks."
Here
was Trump in front of his convention staffers and volunteers with the
national media watching. This was truly an ideal opportunity to hammer
home his campaign themes and attack Hillary Clinton after a convention
that was, in truth, a bit of a mess. But instead, Trump used this press
conference to settle a score with Ted Cruz, who had defiantly refused to endorse Trump a few days before.
Dean Obeidallah
And
not only did Trump ridicule Cruz. In a jaw-dropping moment, he chose to
resurface the allegation that Cruz's father was somehow linked to the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, a claim that had been debunked
as a "Pants on fire" lie by Politifact when Trump originally raised the
issue in May. Trump went on to praise the National Enquirer as deserving of a "Pulitzer Prize" for some of its reporting.
Unsurprisingly, the headlines from his press conference were all about these comments, not Trump's campaign themes.
Yes,
we all know Trump's supporters love it when he does this type of stuff.
But here's the thing: the GOP primaries are over. We are in the general
election phase, and Trump will need to expand his base or he very
easily could lose. No doubt Trump knows this, too.
So
the obvious question is why won't Trump stay on message and stop
effectively sabotaging his own campaign? Simple: He can't help himself
for two reasons.
First, Trump
thrives on entertaining his fans, even if it's detrimental in terms of
the big picture. He even admitted as much in April on Fox News when he candidly stated,
"I can tell you that if I go too presidential, people are going to be
very bored," adding some in the audience might "fall asleep." And just a
few weeks ago Trump remarked at a packed campaign rally that if he stuck to using a Teleprompter, "I'd have about 12 people here instead of 7,000."
Trump
sounds less like a presidential candidate focused on substantive issues
and more like a performer whose priority is to pack the house and
entertain the audience.
Indeed, at
Friday's press conference, Trump "performed" for his supporters once
again, including an impression of Ted Cruz. Entertaining, yes. But way
off message. He did the same thing a few weeks ago at a rally, going so
far off message that The New York Times dubbed it "a striking display of self-sabotage."
While
I have never met Trump, I have known many "Trump" type comedians in the
years I've performed stand-up comedy. They, like Trump, are often
self-sabotaging in terms of their careers. For example, some are so
seduced by the big laughs they will perform material that they know
won't help in the long run, but which can be very crowd-pleasing in the
short-term. (This can range from sexually graphic material to jokes
extremely derivative of those used by better-known comedians.)
Some
of these comics have tried to "pivot" to more original comedy. The
problem is that their new material typically isn't as crowd-pleasing. So
they soon revert back to the old material, even though they know it
will likely ultimately hurt their career. Trump is cut from the same
cloth.
Another similarity I've
noticed between Trump and some of the comedians I know is that he
appears to be narcissistic in the extreme. That's just not my opinion,
but one also seemingly shared by various health care professionals.
This
personality trait can lead to arrogance and insecurity, and can drive
people to lash out at critics. In fact, Trump has done just that for
years -- responding harshly
to anyone critical of him, from fellow politicians like Cruz to the
media to comedians like Jon Stewart, who Trump tweeted about in 2013
after Stewart ridiculed his intelligence: "I promise you that I'm much
smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz -- I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow.
Who, by the way, is totally overrated."
The
bottom line? We can forget about Trump ever being presidential. Trump's
desperate need to entertain, and his consistently demonstrated
narcissism, may make for an interesting combination of personality
traits when we're talking about comedians.
But
he isn't auditioning for a chance to share his latest stand-up routine
on stage. He is running to become president of the United States. And
that truly would be a disaster.
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